U.S. Opens the Door to Chinese Pills

Approval of AIDS Medicine
For 2012 Seen as First Shot
In Generics Fight With India

By

Nicholas Zamiska

Updated Oct. 9, 2007 12:01 a.m. ET

Linhai, China

When a small drug maker here got Food and Drug Administration approval for an AIDS drug this past summer, the Chinese pharmaceutical industry quietly passed an important milestone. As far as the agency can tell, it is the first time a Chinese company has won permission to export finished pills to the U.S.

Expect a lot more pharmaceutical makers here to get the green light over the next few years. Even as Chinese...